Flood survivors share stories of hope as rescue efforts continuepublished at 16:52 BST 30 August
16:52 BST 30 August
Malu Cursino
Live reporter
We’ve heard stories through the day of hope and relief from survivors of the deadly floods near the Nepal-Tibet border, offering some light as crews work around the clock to respond to the disaster.
The head teacher of a school in Nuwakot told BBC Nepali about his decision to evacuate 900 pupils to safety after receiving a series of calls warning of floods in the area.
Media caption,
Teacher saved the lives of 900 students after phone call warning of flood
Sixteen-year-old Yunisha – a pupil at the school – says her and her friends survived “by just 10 seconds”. Her mother, Sabina Shrestha, recalled the worry and relief she felt once her daughter returned home – three days later.
In the capital Kathmandu, a five-year-old girl rescued on Friday (two days after devastating flash floods) was reunited with her parents in hospital. Staff at the Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu say the girl, identified as Manisha, is in a stable condition.
The scale of destruction in Nepal continues to come into focus, five days on. Police say more than 790 people have been killed by the floods. Elsewhere, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority says at least 2,502 people are still missing.
Rescue efforts are under way near Nepal’s Trishuli-3A hydropower site, with crew pumping air into a tunnel where workers are believed to be trapped.
The PM’s office says a team of 90 – including armed forces, police and rescuers with trained dogs – were deployed. But so far, they have “received no response from inside”.
In Tibet 16 people are confirmed dead and 546 others are missing, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
Officials in Shigatse say rescue teams are not finding anyone alive, the BBC’s China correspondent writes. China annexed Tibet in the 1950s and their strict control of the region makes it difficult for us to know what is happening on the ground.